DTW GED PREP

The GED® test is administered on a computer and includes a variety of interactive question types beyond traditional multiple choice. Understanding these formats will help you navigate the exam more confidently and efficiently.

1. Multiple-Choice Questions

Most of the questions on the GED® are multiple choice. Each question presents a prompt followed by four answer choices. You will select the correct response by clicking on it. These questions assess your ability to analyze, interpret, and apply information from reading passages, charts, or prompts.

2. Drag-and-Drop Questions

In drag-and-drop questions, you will be asked to move (or “drag”) items on the screen and place them into designated areas. For example, you might be given a character web after reading a story and asked to:

Select and drag three words that best describe Anthony into the character web.

You’ll need to evaluate each option and drag only the appropriate descriptors into the graphic.

3. Fill-in-the-Blank Questions

Some questions require you to provide your own answer by typing directly into a blank space. These are known as fill-in-the-blank questions. You may encounter this type when answering factual or vocabulary-based items. For example:

Question: What city is the capital of the United States?
Answer: [Type your response here]

Accuracy in spelling and format is essential when answering fill-in-the-blank questions.

TESTING READING COMPREHENSION

Directions: Read the following text, which is excerpted from an essay by the naturalist John Burroughs. Then answer the questions that follow.

1 We often hear it said of a man that he was born too early, or too late, but is it ever true? If he is behind his times, would he not have been behind at whatever period he had been born? If he is ahead of his times, is not the same thing true? In the vegetable world the early flowers and fruit blossoms are often cut off by the frost, but not so in the world of man. Babies are in order at any time. Is a poet, or a philosopher, ever born too late? or too early? If Emerson had been born a century earlier, his heterodoxy would have stood in his way; but in that case he would not have been a heretic. Whitman would have had to wait for a hearing at whatever period he was born. He said he was willing to wait for the growth of the taste for himself, and it finally came. Emerson’s first thin volume called “Nature” did not sell the first edition of five hundred copies in ten years, but would it have been different at any other time? A piece of true literature is not superseded. The fame of man may rise and fall, but it lasts. Was Watt too early with his steam-engine, or Morse too early with his telegraph? Or Bell too early with his telephone? Or Edison with his phonograph or his incandescent light? Or the Wright brothers with their flying-machine? Or Henry Ford with his motor car? Before gasoline was discovered they would have been too early, but then their inventions would not have materialized. The world moves, and great men are the springs of progress. But no man is born too soon or too late.

 1.   Which quotation from the text supports the idea that Burroughs believes people are born when they are meant to be born?

 A.   “If he is behind his times, would he not have been behind at whatever period he had been born?”

 B.   “Babies are in order at any time.”

 C.   “A piece of true literature is not superseded.”

 D.   “But no man is born too soon or too late.”

 2.   What is true of the author?

 A.   He has little imagination.

 B.   He is reflective by nature.

C.   He thinks that life is too short.

 D.   He worries about meaningless things.

 3.   What does the text suggest about life?

 A.   People are born randomly in time.

 B.   Time does not matter in the long run.

 C.   It is unimportant when people are born.

 D.   There is a reason that people are born when they are.

 Directions: Read the following text, which is excerpted from Love of Life by Jack London. Then answer the questions that follow.

  He was lost and alone, sick and injured too badly to walk upright. He crawled on. There came frightful days of snow and rain. He did not know when he made camp, when he broke camp. He traveled in the night as much as in the day. He rested wherever he fell and crawled on whenever the dying life in him flickered up and burned less dimly. He did not try. It was the life in him, unwilling to die, that drove him on. He didn’t suffer. His nerves had become blunted and numb, while his mind was filled with weird visions and delicious dreams.

       There were some members of a scientific expedition on the whaleship, Bedford. From the deck they saw a strange object on the shore. It was on the beach, moving towards the water. They couldn’t tell what it was. Being scientists, they took a boat to see. They saw something alive, but it hardly looked like a man. It was blind, unconscious, and crawled on the beach like a giant worm. Most of its effort to crawl was useless, but it kept trying. It turned and twisted, moving about 20 feet an hour.

       Three weeks afterwards the man lay in a bunk on the whaleship, and with tears streaming down his wasted cheeks told who he was and what he had undergone. He also babbled words that made no sense: about his mother, of sunny Southern California, and a home among the orange groves and flowers.

       The days were not many after that when he sat at table with the scientific men and ship’s officers. He was happy over the sight of so much food, watching it anxiously as it went into the mouths of others. With the disappearance of each mouthful, an expression of deep regret came into his eyes. He was quite sane, yet he hated those men at mealtimes because they ate so much food. He was haunted by a fear that it would not last. He inquired of the cook, the cabin-boy, the captain concerning the food stores. They reassured him countless times; but he could not believe them and pried cunningly about the food storage chest to see with his own eyes.

       It  was noticed that the man was getting fat. He grew stouter with each day. The scientific men shook their heads and theorized. They limited the man at his meals, but still his girth increased and his body grew fatter under his shirt.

       The sailors grinned. They knew. And when the scientific men followed the man, they knew, too. They saw him bent over after breakfast, and like a mendicant, with outstretched palm, stop a sailor. The sailor grinned and passed him a fragment of sea biscuit. He clutched it avariciously, looking at it as a miser looks at gold, and thrust it inside his shirt. Similar were the donations from other grinning sailors.

       The scientific men respected the man’s privacy. They left him alone. But they secretly examined his bunk. It was lined with seamen’s crackers; the mattress was stuffed with crackers; every nook and cranny was filled with crackers. Yet he was sane. He was taking precautions against another possible famine—that was all. He would recover from it, the scientific men said; and he did, ’ere the Bedford’s anchor rumbled down in San Francisco.

 4.   Which quotation from the text best supports the idea that the scientists were not disturbed by the man hiding food in his bunk?

 A.   “They saw something alive, but it hardly looked like a man.”

 B.   “The scientific men shook their heads and theorized.”

 C.   “They saw him bent over after breakfast, and like a mendicant, with outstretched palm, stop a sailor.”

 D.   “He was taking precautions against another possible famine—that was all.”

5.   What is the main idea of the passage?

 A.   how scientists study behavior

 B.   how a starving man recuperated

 C.   what kind of food a starving person ate

 D.   why scientists picked up a starving person

 6.   Why did the man store biscuits in his mattress?

 A.   He enjoyed stealing.

 B.   He wanted to feed the wildlife on shore.

 C.   He knew that biscuits were in short supply.

 D.   He wanted to be prepared in case the ship ran out of food.

 7.   What generalization can be made based on the story?

 A.   Humans are resilient.

 B.   Scientists are emotional.

 C.   Humans have many needs.

 D.   Scientists enjoy helping others.

TESTING READING COMPREHENSION

John Burroughs Passage Questions

1. Which quotation from the text supports the idea that Burroughs believes people are born when they are meant to be born?
✅ Answer: D. “But no man is born too soon or too late.”
Explanation:
This statement clearly summarizes Burroughs’ central thesis—that individuals are born at the right time. Unlike other options, this sentence directly supports the idea that timing of one’s birth is always appropriate.

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2. What is true of the author?
✅ Answer: B. He is reflective by nature.
Explanation:
Burroughs’ essay contains philosophical questioning and thoughtful examples about timing, literature, and historical figures. His tone and analysis reveal a reflective personality focused on meaning and context.

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3. What does the text suggest about life?
✅ Answer: D. There is a reason that people are born when they are.
Explanation:
The passage argues against the idea of people being born too early or too late. It suggests that each person’s time of birth fits into a broader purpose or progression, supporting the idea that their timing is intentional and meaningful.

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Jack London “Love of Life” Passage Questions

4. Which quotation best supports that the scientists were not disturbed by the man hiding food?
✅ Answer: D. “He was taking precautions against another possible famine—that was all.”
Explanation:
This line shows that the scientists rationalized the man’s behavior as a natural consequence of his trauma. It implies they weren’t alarmed or judgmental but instead tried to understand and accept his actions.

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5. What is the main idea of the passage?
✅ Answer: B. how a starving man recuperated
Explanation:
The passage follows the journey of a starving man from physical and mental collapse to gradual recovery. The main focus is on his survival, fear of starvation, and eventual healing—both physical and psychological.

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6. Why did the man store biscuits in his mattress?
✅ Answer: D. He wanted to be prepared in case the ship ran out of food.
Explanation:
Having experienced starvation, the man developed a compulsion to hoard food. His behavior reflects trauma and a desire to protect himself against another period of famine.

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7. What generalization can be made based on the story?
✅ Answer: A. Humans are resilient.
Explanation:
The man survives severe injury, starvation, and hallucinations. His recovery, both mentally and physically, demonstrates the human capacity for resilience under extreme conditions.

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